Stoke-on-Trent (often abbreviated to Stoke) is a city and unitary authority area in Staffordshire, England, with an area of 36 square miles (93 km2). In 2019, the city had an estimated population of 256,375. It is the largest settlement in Staffordshire and is surrounded by the towns of Newcastle-under-Lyme, Alsager, Kidsgrove, Biddulph and Stone, which form a conurbation around the city. Stoke-on-Trent is the home of the pottery industry in England and known as The Potteries. Formerly a primarily industrial conurbation, it is now a centre for service industries and distribution centres.